Bill Faucher’s calloused hands were big as bear claws. He was a worker, and he was fond of Devil Dogs.
He died this week at age 80 after a life that included an enormously successful career in harness racing. He’d been a politician and business owner, but his true loves were his family and raising standardbreds.
He was born and raised near Worcester and moved to Hinsdale to own a horse farm that was close to Hinsdale Raceway.
At its peak in 1980, Faucher’s stable earned over $1 million. The stalls held 50 horses that trained on 35 acres of land near the Connecticut River. He was 58-years-old and had won 1,480 harness races when he left the sulky to be director of the U.S. Trotting Association for 15 years.
Faucher’s dream was to revitalize harness racing in New Hampshire. His plan was to open an off track betting parlor on Rte. 119 in Hinsdale and use the profits to build a harness track.
Most would leave it at that; a dream. But Faucher made countless trips to Concord and paid $100,000 for the property and started building.
His most daunting challenge was convincing the state racing commission to give him a gaming license. The 72-page application was returned to him several times for revision, but finally they gave him the go-ahead.
Hinsdale opened for business four years ago last February, and though revenues weren’t what he’d projected, it was enough to pay the bills. It’s clean and well-managed, “a class operation” he liked to say.
Despite his failing kidneys, Faucher had a can-do attitude right to the end. He drove the starting gate on the Maine fairground circuit until two summers ago, and was able to drive to Florida by scheduling dialysis treatment along the way.
Faucher’s body finally gave out on Monday, two days after harness racing’s biggest event, the Hambletonian. His funeral is this morning in Brattleboro, but his legacy will live on at the OTB parlor he built from scratch.